2004/05/17 by Carsten Henkel, Henkel, Carsten
Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics #Atomic Physics (physics.atom-ph) #Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates #FOS: Physical sciences #Optics (physics.optics) #Quantum Mechanics and Applications #physics.atom-ph #physics.optics
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.physics/0405084
37 pages, 2 figures, complementary notes to 90min lecture at "Advanced School on Field Atom Surface Interactions" (Les Houches, France, 03-07 May 2004) organized by the European Union networks "Fastnet" and "Atom chips"
openalex publication_date 2004/05/17 · arxiv created 2004/05/19 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
A tutorial overview is given on interactions between atoms and surfaces that are mediated by the electromagnetic field. The emphasis is on dispersion (or van der Waals) forces and transitions induced by thermal fluctuations in the near field of a surface. Applications with cold atoms held in microscopic traps near surfaces ("atom chips") provide the experimental background for this theory lecture. We do not cover the chemical physics aspects that are relevant at distances comparable to the atomic scale, like adsorption and diffusion on surfaces, growth of nanostructures, or atomic beam diffraction from crystalline surfaces. These are covered by other lecturers.